Hi, I don't know you, but I'm crashing here all weekend

I haven't really done much out of the ordinary and blog-worthy since about the second week of classes. There's a comfortable routine of weekly social events and class that had been making me very satisfied with my time in Australia. But like any routine, sometimes it's fun to break it and do something else. In my case, I skipped class for a week and took off for the beach.

Alex, Jeremy and I spent the weekend in Sydney with a few of Jeremy's girl friends (note the space) from San Diego who go to Macquarie University. It was amazingly fun even though (or because) I didn't know the people we were going to be bombing around town with. Annie, Brooke, and Christina were incredibly hospitable, giving up beds, blankets, couches and pretty much anything else to give three guys a free place to stay.

We hit up the Taronga Zoo, which, by itself is fantastic, but it is positioned on the side of a hill overlooking Sydney Harbor. We were watching gorillas and giraffes on a background that happens to be the most beautiful city I've ever been to.

Christina had organized a wine tasting tour for the next day. Now, I'm not a huge fan of wine (perhaps because of my ignorance of it), but wine country brings out part of you that you never knew you had. Suddenly I felt like a sophisticated 40-something refining my taste of 2001 Chablis, critiquing its blend and balance. It didn't hurt that the experience was shared with some of my best 'mates' from Oz.

I can't talk about Sydney without mentioning Pancakes on the Rocks. It's tucked away right underneath the harbor bridge, and they make some excellent dessert pancakes. I had fried cinnamon apples with ice cream, but everything the waitress carried past us looked delicious.

The weather was gorgeous all weekend - so much so that we though we'd go to Bondi Beach. Unfortunately, we overestimated exactly how warm it was and ended up shivering our way among surf shops and food stands. While still a great time, it made bundling up under blankets and watching movies later that night all the more enjoyable.

Back to Canberra the next day - but only to do laundry, re-pack and head up the coast!